1GRUAN Mid-Atlantic Consortium is an association of scientists that are interested in GRUAN, Sat.-validation, upper-air instrumentation

• Serve as a USA-arm for GRUAN: science, advocacy, student and staff training• Semi-Quarterly meetings for update and coordination• Provide Science input to GRUAN and GRUAN-like activities by its members: NWS-

SFSC; HU-Beltsville, STAR

1GMAC update B. Demoz; R. Sakai, A. Flores, D. Whiteman, D. Brewer,

M. Lataille, T. Reale, B. Sun, N. Nalli, R. Smith

GMAC: National Weather Service Input

GMAC: The NWS Leg) • Extensive CFH operation and Training

– CFH training between SFSC and HUBC (discussed CFH + RS41 interfacing) & Performed test flight with CFH + RS41 payload

• NESDIS NPROVS support for radiosonde evaluation and transition monitoring – Dataset is used as an independent comparison of a

radiosonde’s profile. – Also used to monitor transition and major differences in

newly deployed radiosondes (currently Alaska region)

• NASA Wallops Facility Hosting Radiosonde Evaluation campaign – 2 week intensive evaluation; with 4-5 vendors + CFH – ~20+ CFH-RS41 data in total would be public – Sensitive acquisition for the U.S. NWS radiosonde

transition [Data is not public] – performed in Egbert, Canada; will be performed in SGP

ARM site (August).

GMAC – The NWS Leg: SFSC laboratory acquisition • New Test Asset Goals

– Solar Simulator- Quantifying measurement uncertainty Benchtop test complete Integration with altitude chamber in progress Rotation device in development 5 m/s aspiration method in development

• Infrared Sky Camera- Providing irradiance retrievals and cloud imagery (both day and night) Transportable to radiosonde evaluation locations Part of independent consensus measurements during

each evaluation campaign.

• Microwave Radiometer – Independent measurement of temperature and humidity and new technology for evaluation [Coming soon. this year]

• Standard Humidity (100% RH) – Integration into test process in progress

• New Autosonde – Vaisala AS15 delivered in March 2019 for NWS training,

evaluation, and document development. The 3rd autosonde at SFSC.

GMAC: Beltsville/GRUAN update

1) Is the end near?

Year RS92-41 Comment

2016 2 December+

2017 45 all months

2018 45 All months

2019 20 ongoing

• Beltsville- NWS Coordinated flights • Cosmic flight 10 + • Pandora + TOLNET operations

600g

GMAC: Beltsville update

2) CFH is

Getting harder

Year CFH

2019 4

2018 7

2017 8

2016 6

2015 10

2014 3

<2013 ?

total ~70

3) GRUAN O3 Plan needed

Year O3

2019 3

2018 24

2017 23

2016 21

2015 14

2014 16

2013 21

2012 18

2011 44

<2005 many

1) Change management: RS92 RS41; benefits?

sfc at night…

sfc at night…

GRUAN processing reduces the diff. RS41 ~1% moist below 5km

Continue RS92-41 through 2019

Year RS92-41 Comment

2016 2 December+

2017 45 all months

2018 45 all months

2019 20 ongoing

Questions/Guidance needed: - When is RS92-41 data

collection to end?

- RS92: Can RH data below 1% be provided in MW41 [MW31 allowed that option]

1) Change management: RS92 RS41; Is the end near?

sfc at night…

CFH History

2) CFH is getting harder: In need of a solution

2) CFH issues: RS41-CFH interference? Currently investigating the ”issues” with Whiteman/Holger

Question: Is this a Beltsville only problem?

3) Ozone: record goes back to 2005 with meta data. Funding: OWLETS (State/NASA); Pandora (NASA); State (MDE, Sonde); NGIA

A GRUAN plan/guide is requested: • Include past data into GRUAN? How? • Re-processing discussion (Anne Thompson) • Integrate with Pandora network?

Year # O3

2019 3

2018 24

2017 23

2016 21

2015 14

2014 16

2013 21

2012 18

2011 44

<2010 ??

GMAC: NOAA-STAR update (Tony/Bomin will deliver)

• RS92-RS41 concurrent with N-20 Beltsville launches

• Thank you Axel for Overpassdata BEL data. Discussions for targeting: MetOp-C and others

• AEROSE deployment RS41 ~100+ over the Atlantic • GRUAN processing of RS41 … radiance space (Bomin, GSICS)

1) CFH issues are becoming critical. • Cost is becoming an issue (critical) • RS41-Interference (only Beltsville? Who else?) • R2 availability (not an issue so far in the US) • Central processing (LC takes charge CFH/FP processing)

2) RS92-41: Is the end near? 3) GRUAN Ozone product needs a plan/strategy

• Thanks Richard for your suggestion yesterday

Summary: points for discussion

A22: UT/LS GRUAN responsibility? This charge to GRUAN needs a careful discussion – especially the LS part of the water vapor. I read it as CFH & all the problems that brings about.

C12: Usage of GRUAN data and acknowledgments. This is

important for the sites to show data usage. Is there a data identification protocol that GRUAN can use? [David Smith]

Burst Altitude: Justification for the need to reach 10mb? What is

the science justification? Is it published? Multi-payload: it was stated that a “scientific studies is needed” –

this is a difficult paper to accomplish and an expensive one to test the many configurations.

Other Points for discussion

Boulder-8

Matera - 7

Tokyo - 4

De Bilt - 5

Queenstown - 3

Payerne - 2

Helsinki-9

Greenbelt - 6

Lindenberg - 0 What has GRUAN accomplished so far?

Norman - 1

Lindenberg - 10

What if Vaisala decides to replace the RS41? • Can they? Should they? Is there a business

case to do this? A scientific one?

• GRUAN has no say – or? I would hate to go through the change management again!

You are dreaming now ... nightmare scenario:

You are dreaming now ... Wake up! Wake up! … it’s only a dream.